Athletes

Country

Sport

Name

Jennifer Kessy

Country: United States

Sport: Beach Volleyball

Height: 5'11"
/ 1.80m

Weight: 157 lbs
/ 71.2 kg

Born: 7/31/1977

Hometown: San Juan Capistrano, CA, USA

Career Highlights: Kessy will be making her Olympic debut after teaming with April Ross to finish as the second-ranked American squad in the 24-team field and fourth in the world rankings. The pair, which finished behind Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngs in trying to qualify for Beijing, has won eight titles, the last in Norway in 2011. Kessy and Ross had their first podium appearance of 2012 in June in Rome, placing third to wrap up their spot in London, and they've reached the quarterfinals in five straight FIVB Grand Slam events this year. The tandem pushed two-time defending Olympic gold medalists Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh to three sets in the quarterfinals in Switzerland in July. Despite being the “other” American duo behind May-Treanor and Walsh, Ross and Kessy have proven to be tough outs at the world level and reached the semifinals in 17 of 20 FIVB events from 2008-10. Kessy played collegiately at Southern California and earned all-Pac-10 first-team honors all four years from 1995-98, and was also a member of the U.S. junior indoor national team. Ross is Kessy’s seventh partner since she began playing in 2000, with the most notable previous teammate being 2004 bronze medalist Holly McPeak.